Insights

Everyone experiences some form of stress in their lives. Be that stress at home or work, we all struggle from time-to-time. But stress isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, stress can be a benefit just as much as it can be a hinder – if you know how to manage it and use it to your advantage. Our Internal Talent & Wellbeing Manager Simon Briffa looks at what you can do to help manage stress and remain healthy and motivated.. When thinking about the benefits of stress it is important to view it as anything that alters our homeostasis (the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems). Good stress therefore is vital for a healthy life, but bad stress can have a hugely detrimental impact on our wellbeing and ability to remain motivated and productive. In order to counteract the negative consequences of stress we need to be able to recognise it, manage it and change our surroundings to help deal with it. I wanted to draw upon author Stephen Covey’s four dimensions of Human Needs and offer some tips on what you can do to help your own wellbeing. Stephen Covey’s four dimensions of Human Needs Steven Covey states that we need four things to “maintain and improve the implement that is you”, and in turn stay motivated and productive. He breaks these down into four dimensions: physical, mental, spiritual and social/emotional. Although not directly related to stress management, I do believe that we can greatly reduce stress in our day-to-day lives by working on these four dimensions. At Sellick Partnership, we truly believe this and spent time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on one of these areas each Wednesday in our ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ initiative. Here are some of the things we started doing to help our staff manage their own stress, and raise awareness of keeping healthy, physically and mentally at work and at home. Physical/Body – keeping fit, eat well avoid bad things This one is simple. If we look after our physical selves, our mental health will be in much better shape. It is therefore important to keep active and eat healthily. Even getting out for a small walk or getting some fresh air greatly helps to reduce stress. That is why we always actively encourage all our employees to take their full lunch each day. We also gave everyone one extended lunch per week and held regular incentives designed around getting people out and about. Getting away from the desk and switching off for a period of time each day is hugely important and will help keep your mind fresh and ensure you stay motivated. Mind – nourish your brain Engaging your mind and doing something that helps you use all parts of your brain is hugely important in reducing stress. If you are constantly working, remain on the go and only using your brain for work then you will burn out very quickly. Using your mind for other activities will help you relax and destress. Taking yourself away and doing something you enjoy is important here. You might want to read a good book, listen to your favourite podcast or music or simply catch up on your favourite TV show. Whatever you choose, make sure it works for you. Heart/Social/emotional – surround yourself by good people, take good advice, be kind listen to others Human contact and interaction is one of the best ways for us to de-stress. I am sure a lot of you will use socialising with friends at the weekend as a way to relax after a hectic week. This has recently become more difficult, but not impossible! If you usually go out on a Friday night, why not set up a video conference instead. Apps like House Party and Zoom make socialising virtually easier than ever. We see the benefit of this and are ensuring our teams are in regular contact throughout the day. We have set up a companywide WhatsApp Group, have given everyone access to video conferencing software and are holding regular companywide incentives to keep morale up. This is hugely important for us. We are one big family at Sellick Partnership, and not staying in touch would greatly impact our culture. Staying in touch helps us ensure our staff’s mental and physical wellbeing are catered for, and in turn reduces stress, and increases morale and productivity across the business. Giving back is also a great way of reducing stress. Getting involved with volunteering, supporting charities and general CSR initiatives are proven to lift moods, so get involved and help others where possible. This again, is something that is really important to Sellick Partnership and we encourage all of our staff to get involved where they can. Spiritual – who you are, your values and behaviours Looking after your mental wellbeing, and reducing stress relies on you being happy with who you are. Not everyone relates to spirituality, but everyone can take a few minutes just to be with themselves and relax, and that is what this is all about. To reduce stress in your day-to-day it is important to get in touch with your personal values and your mission which will be unique to you – so do this in whatever way feels most comfortable to you. Meditation, yoga and prayer are all great ways of doing this. You might also feel like taking yourself into a room to read a book or listen to music. Do whatever helps you to relax and get in touch with yourself, and spend some time de-stressing away from everything else that is going on. Doing something you enjoy away from your home workspace will help you de-stress and will be beneficial to your overall wellbeing. You might also want to read motivational books or listen to podcasts that will help you stay motivated. That is what we have done. We asked our Board of Directors to give us one thing they have read or listened to that has helped them recently and we have given our staff access to these materials. Some of these things can even be done while working. Having something inspirational playing in the background during the day helps so many people deal with stress. Those are just four areas we think are imperative to dealing with stress both at work and at home. There will be loads of other tips, so if these do not work for you then don’t worry. Visit the Stress Management website for lots of additional tools to help you deal with stress your way.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly had an impact on the way businesses operate over the last 12 months. Since March 2020, the vast majority have had to adapt to a new way of working from home whilst still carrying their jobs out as best as they can.   Many businesses would have previously said that it is impossible for employees to work effectively from home, and while that will have remained the case for some, a lot will have been surprised at how well they have been able to adapt and continue to add value to their business. It is fair to say that we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel following the announcement of the government roadmap. This will see many businesses returning to the office in the coming months. So, which elements of remote working are here for good, even if we are not remote working? As we move back towards traditional office working what aspects of remote working will you be taking with you? Efficient communication Despite the concerns of many employers and employees alike, who expected communication with colleagues to become more difficult during lockdown, a large proportion of homeworkers have reported communication actually improving in the pandemic. In a study by productivity software company Time is Ltd., it was revealed that the average length of meetings for remote workers decreased by 10 minutes. It certainly appears that the use of video meeting software has made it both easier and more acceptable to leave meetings at the appropriate time, without them running over unnecessarily. Not only that, but once we return to the office there should be no reason to turn our backs on the convenience afforded to us by video meetings. While it is difficult to substitute the level of interpersonal connection that can be built by conducting meetings in person, there will still be a place for video meetings in the office. Maintaining this will eliminate travel time but still produce effective results, all the while allowing us to focus on other important tasks that would previously have been left unfinished. Creativity and innovation The coronavirus pandemic has led to previously tech-shy companies and employees having to adopt new technology and processes quickly. This will not have been easy for many companies, however having been put in such an uncertain scenario with no option but to change the way they do business, they will now know they are capable of taking risks and trying new things when the situation demands it. Once we return to the office, many of us will do so knowing that creating and implementing new ways of working that can drive your business forward is a realistic possibility, and a risk worth taking. Trust Working from home has resulted in a requirement for many employees to take on more self-directed work and responsibility, without being able to rely on constant contact with managers. In addition, by nature, remote working has meant that managers and leaders have less visibility of what employees are doing throughout the day, with the knowledge that there may be more distractions — such as childcare and family members — at home. This has meant managers have had to trust that their employees are being productive and getting the work done. An increase in trust and reduction in unnecessary micro-management once we return to the office can be a good thing, and can actually help to speed up the development of employees. Empathy Everybody appreciates that their colleagues and business contacts are going through a difficult period and, as a result, their mental health could be affected. With not being able to physically see people and check in on them, we have needed to treat them with care and empathy perhaps more than ever before. It is very likely that, once lockdown is over, colleagues will continue to deal with struggles and issues in their lives — whether coronavirus related or not — and we should conduct business with this expectation. Just because people are no longer isolated and threatened by serious illness, it does not mean we should treat them with anything other than the utmost care, empathy, understanding and patience. Flexibility Arguably the best thing about remote working is the flexibility it gives to employees. Removing the daily commute frees up significantly more time in the day for errands, exercise, hobbies, family time or simply more time to relax away from work. In turn, this has meant that staff feel less stressed and more in control of their lives. This will undoubtedly be the biggest thing that workers will miss about being back in the office, but there is no reason why companies should not consider retaining or introducing more flexible working policies for their staff. Many business leaders will now be under pressure to introduce more policies that allow for a healthier work/life balance, including: Long-term remote working policies Flexi-time — flexible start/finish times Compressed hours — working full-time hours but over fewer days Staggered shifts Job sharing Relaxed dress codes These are just some of the positive elements that remote working in lockdown has brought to businesses which could (and should) be protected once we start to return to the office. What do you think the best thing is about remote working that should be kept? If you would like some advice about returning to the office get in touch with our team today, we would be more than happy to offer some tailored advice.